Good Times Gonna Come
by Princess Oats 435
Summary: Preseason 1. What exactly happened to make the Cohens stay in Newport?
1. Chapter 1

I took famous99's advice, and took a break from my studying to write. Originally this was going to be a one-shot, but it got a little long, so I think it's going to be a two-shot. Anyway, review please and tell me what you think! Thanks!

Disclaimer: Right, I don't own the characters.

* * *

_Need to know_

_If you're letting go_

_It's alright, it's alright_

_Didn't know_

_I was hurting you so_

_It's alright, it's alright_

_This is just one of those lonely nights_

_The good times gonna come- Aqualung_

* * *

"Kirsten…please," Sandy said as she threw things into a suitcase haphazardly. "Please don't go. Can't we just…can't we just talk? Sit down and talk to me." Kirsten shook her head, and continued to toss shirts and pants and skirts, without looking if they were a match or not. She counted silently the amount of underwear that she was tossing in, and then paused and grabbed a handful. Who knew how long she was going to be gone?

"Sandy…I can't…" She moved into the bathroom. This massive bathroom that was about half of the size of her and Sandy's bedroom at their house in Berkeley.

Berkeley. God. Sometimes she missed Berkeley. Right then was one of those times. Things seemed simpler at Berkeley.

"Where are you going?" Sandy asked as he followed her into their bathroom and watched her gather up things in her arms and dump them unceremoniously into her suitcase. Kirsten made one more stop into her closet and scooped up some shoes, making sure that she had tennis shoes and some heels, before closing up the suitcase. "Damn it Kirsten. Talk to me! You can't just leave!" Kirsten ignored him as she moved past him into the hallway and down the stairs.

"Seth sweetie?" Kirsten called. Her energetic six-year-old bounced out of the living room where he had been playing some new video game that she had bought him because she felt so guilty that they had been in Newport for a year and he still had no friends. And then she felt guilty that she was buying him things to replace friends. Lately Kirsten had felt like the world's worst mother. Seth was clearly unhappy, and she was at a loss as to what to do to fix it. "Why don't you come upstairs with me and tell me what you want to take with you?"

"Where are we going Mommy?" Seth asked bouncing from foot to foot.

"Just a little trip, baby," Kirsten replied, running a hand through his curls and taking his hand and leading him up to his bedroom. Sandy followed behind, and caught the curious looks that Seth was sending him as he glanced over his shoulder.

"Is Daddy coming?" Seth asked.

"No, it's just me and you this time, honey," Kirsten said as she opened up his closet. Sandy stepped in at this point and put his hand on the closet door and pushed it close.

"You can't do this," he said in a low voice, painfully aware that Seth was standing there, witnessing his parents' actions. "You can't take Seth, and just go."

"We're not going to be gone forever," Kirsten replied angrily yanking the closet door open again. "Seth, what clothes do you want to take?" Seth looked from his father to his mother and then back at his father again and slowly moved towards the closet.

"Then how long are you going to be gone?" Sandy hissed.

"I don't know," Kirsten snapped. "As long as it takes for me to think things over."

"What do you need to think over?" Sandy's voice was getting louder and Seth kept glancing his parents as he pulled out his green Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shirt and handed it to his mother.

"Jesus, Sandy, like you don't know!" Kirsten yelled. And she was right, he knew exactly what she had to think about. He knew exactly why she was taking Seth with her and leaving.

Her mother had died two months before. That had been why they had moved back here to Newport. Sandy had jokingly dubbed it "the Devil's playground," a nickname that his wife didn't find all that amusing. They moved so that Kirsten could spend as much time with her mother as she could before Kathryn died. So that Seth could get to know his grandmother, and so that his grandmother could be with her daughter and grandson in her final months.

Sandy hadn't known that Kirsten would get sucked in. He hadn't known that the simple suggestion from her father that she come work in his company would turn into the cause of the biggest argument of their marriage. But they had worked through it. The last thing that Kirsten had needed on top of her mother's illness, and running after a hyperactive Seth, was to worry about her husband and the state of their marriage. So Sandy had complied, and let her go to work with her father, and Kirsten, it turned out, despite her degree in Art History, had a natural talent for the family business.

And Kathryn died, and Sandy thought, mistakenly, that they would stay a few more months to tie up some loose ends, and then head back to Berkeley. They hadn't even sold their house there. Newport was supposed to be a temporary thing. A year, two tops. And it had been a year, and now it was time to go home.

Sandy had not expected the reaction from Kirsten that he got when he suggested that they pack up and head north again.

"Are you kidding? We can't," Kirsten had said.

"Why not? We never intended to stay here!"

"Because Seth is in school here…"

"He hates it here. Besides, he was in school in Berkeley and we just yanked him out."

"That's not the point Sandy! The point is that we've already pulled him out of school; we can't do it twice in less than two years. And besides, I have my job, you have a job. We have lives here now."

"We had lives there too!"

"And it's been a year," Kirsten retorted. "We can't just go back after a year and expect our lives to resume as normal. I love my job, Sandy, I'm good at it."

"I know you are…"

"And I like being by my dad, and Hailey. My mother just died, Sandy, I want to be by my family," Kirsten's voice began to get a little higher with every word.

"And it's all about what you want isn't it?" Sandy yelled back. Kirsten shrank back for a moment, Sandy rarely yelled at her. Sandy was tired of being in Newport. He was tired of feeling like he didn't belong. It was easy for her, she belonged here. These people weren't like him, and they didn't want him here anymore than he wanted to be here. He wanted to go home to their little house. He wanted to be with just his wife and his son without anyone or anything else getting in the way.

"No! I'm thinking about what's best for all of us! Here, in Newport where Seth can get to know some of his family, where I can be by my family, where Seth can have every opportunity in the world…" Kirsten started listing off the reasons on her fingers.

"This is about money, right? Seth can have every opportunity in the world, because here he would have money, right? God, sometimes you know, I suddenly remember that you were born and raised in Newport."

"What does that mean?" Kirsten asked placing her hands on her slender hips and glaring at Sandy.

"It means sometimes you act like the spoiled brat you are," Sandy yelled. He realized as soon as the words were out of his mouth that he had gone too far. Kirsten's face had gone pale and she had begun to shake with fury.

"If that's what you think about me, then what are we doing?" Kirsten asked in a biting voice. "If I'm such a spoiled brat, then why are you married to me?" Sandy knew he should apologize, he knew that he should tell her that he was wrong and make it up to her, but for some reason, he couldn't get the message across to his mouth.

"Sometimes I wonder," he had said. Kirsten had gasped and stormed out of the kitchen, and he had found her twenty minutes later packing things in a bag.

Sandy knew that he had done this, and now he was scrambling to fix it. He had apologized to her. He had told her that he loved her and he never had any doubts about them or their marriage, but Kirsten had tuned him out.

Kirsten put another pair of underwear in Seth's little suitcase just in case, and then told him to grab some toys.

"Daddy?" Seth said as Kirsten went into Seth's bathroom to grab his toothbrush and toothpaste. "If you want to keep Captain Oats here with you…so that you don't get lonely while me and Mommy are gone, you can." Seth handed his father his beloved plastic horse, and Sandy took it in his hands and then gathered Seth in his arms.

"Thanks buddy," he said placing a kiss on the top of Seth's head. Kirsten reappeared in the door and frowned slightly. She didn't want to leave. But she was too angry with him, with what he had said and the fact that she thought he might mean it, to stay there. She needed some time to think things over. She needed some space from her husband.

"Come on Sethy," she said softly. "You ready kiddo?" Seth pulled away from his father and nodded. Kirsten leaned down to pick up the suitcase, and Sandy reached for it instead.

"I got it," he said quietly. She nodded and took Seth's hand and they went back downstairs. Picking up her own suitcase, and grabbing her purse, they walked out to Kirsten's new car and she popped the trunk and while Sandy placed the suitcases in there, she got Seth buckled in.

"I'll miss you buddy," Sandy said as he leaned into the car to give Seth a hug and a kiss.

"I'll see you later alligator," Seth said smiling at his dad.

"After while crocodile," Sandy replied giving his son one last kiss on the top of his head. "Be good for your mother." Seth nodded seriously, and Sandy ducked back out of the car and turned to face his wife. She had a few tears already rolling down her face from behind her sunglasses, and he wanted to hold her and whisper that he was sorry until she believed him, but she placed her arms around her stomach and hugged herself, and then opened the driver's side door.

"Be careful," Sandy told her. Kirsten nodded. "I love you."

"We'll call you," Kirsten said climbing in. Sandy shut her door for her and couldn't help but lean in and give her a kiss on the cheek. Kirsten started the car and backed down the driveway, and Sandy stood there, waving to Seth until he couldn't see them anymore.

* * *

Kirsten and Seth had been gone only a few hours, and already Sandy didn't know what he was going to do without them. He tripped over a toy of Seth's that was in the living room, and found Kirsten's coffee cup on the counter, and he wanted to be with them so badly that it hurt.

He had tried to watch some television, only to find that he could care less about the characters in the show. He then got some work and tried to concentrate on that, but he kept replaying their argument in his head.

"_Then why are you married to me?"_

"_Sometimes I wonder." _

Sandy sighed and threw the paper across the room. He knew that Kirsten leaving wasn't just because of the fight today, he knew that that had been the straw that broke the camel's back. He knew that they were in a rut lately. He knew that she was stressed out, and his snide remarks about Newport and her father weren't helping. He knew that she was worried about Seth. He knew that he had gone too far, and he knew that he should try to do something to make it up to her, he should have tried harder to stop her from leaving.

The phone rang and he grabbed it immediately.

"Hello? Kirsten?"

"Hi Sandy," his wife sounded tired and Sandy's heart hurt. "We're at my dad's cabin." Her dad's cabin was about two and a half hours away. It wasn't so much a cabin but a resort. It was massive, and he knew that Seth loved it there. There was plenty of privacy and it was right on the lake. And Seth loved having his mother all to himself.

"How long are you going to be there?" Sandy asked. "Seth has school."

"I know that. I just needed a couple days away," Kirsten said, and Sandy wondered why he had gone on the defensive. He was trying to make her less angry, not more.

"Take as much time as you need," Sandy suddenly said. "Just as long as you come home." It was silent on Kirsten's end for a moment.

"Seth's in his room playing, do you want me to get him?"

"No, let him play. I'll talk to you later, I love you."

"Okay, goodbye," Kirsten hung up the phone and Sandy realized that it was the first time that she had ended a conversation without repeating back to him that she loved him.

The rest of the day he spent listlessly in front of the television watching some dumb movie, Seth called to say goodnight to him, and Sandy finally went to bed.

It was strange not to have Kirsten in the bed next to him. They had been together now for nine years. Nine years of sleeping next to her. The bed seemed too big. The room was too big. The house was too big.

God. Why hadn't he listened to that little voice who told him to stop antagonizing Kirsten during their argument? She was right, her mother had only been dead a little over two months. Sandy couldn't blame her for not wanting to move back to Berkeley yet. But not moving back to Berkeley was unacceptable. Kirsten had said herself that she didn't want the move to Newport to be permanent. And here they were. Fighting about whether to stay or not.

Sandy knew he should have been the bigger person in the whole thing. Did it really matter where they lived as long as he had her? He did like his job in Chino, even if the commute was a little longer than he had had in Berkeley. And Kirsten seemed to love hers. Would it be fair to ask her to give that up?

But would it be fair to ask him to give up Berkeley? The house that they had bought and loved and were working together on fixing up. Their friends, and Seth's friends.

No matter what, someone was going to have to sacrifice something, and Sandy wasn't sure how it would play out.

He tossed in bed and wondered if Kirsten was having as shitty of a night as he was.

* * *

Kirsten had allowed Seth to sleep in her bed with her. Usually she and Sandy tried to dissuade Seth from sleeping in their bed with them, allowing it only if he had nightmares or if it was storming. But she had been the one to ask him if he wanted to sleep in the big bed with Mommy.

"Sure!" Seth had said excitedly, and Kirsten had gotten him ready for bed and grabbed a book for her, and she was sitting up reading, running an absent-minded hand through Seth's hair as he slept. She envied his ability to just fall asleep at the drop of a hat. She knew that she was going to get very little sleep that night. If only she could turn off her brain and stop thinking about Sandy and their fight, and the things that he had said to her.

"_The spoiled brat you are." _

Kirsten knew that she was admittedly a little spoiled, and that meant that she did expect things to go her way. But couldn't Sandy see how much it would mean to her to be able to stay in Newport? For a little while longer at the very least. She liked her job. She was _good_ at it. Really, really good at it.

Kirsten sighed and leaned her head against the backboard. She had read the same page five times. She placed her bookmark to save her page and slipped down into the covers next to Seth.

She missed her mother.

She missed her husband.

Turning slightly as to not wake up Seth, Kirsten buried her head in her pillow and cried herself to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

I was procrastinating again...so here is the next chapter. Read, enjoy, and let me know what you thought about it.

Disclaimer: The characters are not even close to being mine.

* * *

_"In the end_

_we let it go away_

_we let it float away_

_on the breeze_

_round the bend_

_the sun is in the sky_

_it's starting to look like _

_it's gonna be, yeah, it's gonna be_

_a bright, beautiful day_

_yeah, the good times gonna come" - Aqualung_

* * *

"Mommy! Watch this!" Seth said as he bounced into the kitchen where Kirsten was sipping at her coffee. She was exhausted, but managed to smile at her son, and watch as he pretended to fly around the kitchen with his blanket tied around his neck like a cape.

"Wow, Sethy," Kirsten said smiling at him. Seth clambered up onto the stool next to her.

"Can I call Daddy?" Seth asked as he reached over and took a drink of the orange juice that Kirsten had poured for him.

"Sure honey," Kirsten answered and she dialed the phone for Seth who held it up to his ear and did a little dance as he stood waiting for his father to pick up.

"Dad! It's Seth!" Kirsten could hear Sandy's laugh through the phone, and his patented,

"Hey, kiddo."

"Guess what Mommy and I are going to do today?" Seth asked. He didn't wait for Sandy's reply before jumping into a list of activities that Kirsten had promised him they would do. "We're going to get the paddle boat and go out onto the lake, and Mommy said that if it's warm enough we can even go swimming. And she said she would ride bikes with me, and we're going to roast hotdogs tonight, and marshmallows, but maybe not, maybe something else, something better. Cause Grandpa has a whole cupboard of things that you can roast." Kirsten had to suppress a giggle as Seth listed off the things that they could potentially put over the fire and eat. "Do you want to talk to Mommy? I got to sleep in the big bed with her last night, cause you weren't there."

On both ends of the conversation, both Kirsten and Sandy felt the pang at the words.

_You weren't there._

"So do you want to talk to Mommy?" Seth asked again. This time he waited for an answer, and with a quick goodbye, handed the phone off to his mother.

"Hey," Kirsten said softly.

"How'd you sleep?" Sandy asked.  
"Not very well…you?" It was one of the most awkward conversations of Kirsten's life. She didn't know what to say to Sandy, and that was a weird position to find herself in. She and Sandy had never been at a loss of words even from the beginning of their relationship. And any silence was quickly filled by Sandy's inane, but charming, rambling.

"I couldn't stop thinking about you," Sandy said truthfully. "I miss you already. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean any of what I said. I was just…frustrated. Can't you come home and we can talk about it? Or I can come there? We can stay at the cabin, Seth can take off school for a couple of days, and we'll take off work…" Maybe that was the key; maybe they just needed to get away, all three of them. Maybe on neutral territory they could just talk about the options instead of fighting.

"Sandy," Kirsten said closing her eyes.

"Please don't say no," he whispered. "Please just think about it."

"Mommy! Are we going to go out on the paddle boats?" Seth asked impatiently.

"I should go," Kirsten said grateful to her son for the distraction.

"Think about it? Please?" Sandy pleaded again. Kirsten felt a headache coming on, and she rubbed her temple with her free hand.

"Okay, I'll think about it," she finally acquiesced.

"I love you," Sandy said feeling a little better after his small victory. At the very least she would think about it.

"I really have to go," she said and he heard a click and the dial tone. Kirsten hung up the phone and looked at her son.

"Are you ready?" Seth asked exasperated. "I've been waiting forever." Kirsten managed another smile for him, and nodded.

"Let's grab some shoes, and we can go."

* * *

Sandy did nothing but sit by the phone and wait for Kirsten to call. He had work in front of him, but he wasn't actually doing any of it. He had to reread the same page five times, and finally gave up and moved on. He actually played with one of Seth's new video games, and decided that he was terrible at it, and gave up at that too.

When the phone rang, he dove for it, and answered with a breathless,

"Hello?"

"Sanford." Great, Sandy thought. Just who I wanted to talk to. Caleb.

"Caleb."

"I want to talk to Kiki," Caleb demanded.

"You know Caleb, normal people ask if the person they want to talk to is home, sometimes they even try to make small talk with the person that answers," Sandy said. At first he had been uncomfortable around his father-in-law. Sure, he and Kirsten had been married for years, but he wasn't completely himself around Caleb. That had changed once Sandy realized that he would be dealing with Caleb on practically a day to day basis. Sandy was quick to then reply to Caleb's harsh words with sarcastic ones that drove his father-in-law crazy. It was one of Sandy's favorite aspects of Newport living, driving Caleb Nichol up a wall.

"Where's my daughter?" Caleb asked again, ignoring Sandy.

"She's not home right now," Sandy answered. "She and Seth are out for the day."

"When will she be home?" Caleb asked. It relieved Sandy at least slightly that Kirsten had not told her father that they were having problems, he would never hear the end of it.

"I'm not sure, I can have her call you though," Sandy replied.

"Fine," Caleb huffed, and without a goodbye, hung up the phone. Sandy shrugged and placed it back in the receiver, and continued his vigil next to the phone willing it to ring, willing it to be Kirsten asking him to come to the cabin so that they could talk things over.

It rang in the afternoon, about an hour after Caleb had called. Kirsten's voice soft and uncertain on the other end.

"If you want to come up here…that would be okay," she said softly.

"Are you sure?" Sandy said. He knew that he shouldn't get his hopes up, but that couldn't stop the grin that was creeping over his face. No, Kirsten said in her head. She wasn't sure. She wasn't sure if she could forgive him yet for the things he had said, but she knew that they should talk about things. She knew that they should talk about Newport and Berkeley and their marriage.

"I don't know Sandy," she finally said. "I'm not sure about anything. But you want to talk, and so I'm giving you the opportunity to come here and talk."

"I'll be there. As soon as I can, I promise."

"Drive carefully," she warned.

"I will. I'll see you soon," Sandy hung up the phone, and hurried and threw clothes into a bag, and threw the bag into the car and peeled out of the driveway and headed towards the cabin.

It was a good sign. That she was willing to talk to him. It meant that it wasn't over. It meant that he hadn't screwed up everything.

He made a decision right there and then that if it meant that much to stay in Newport, he would try his best to make the best of it. If it meant being with her, than he could live there. He would deal with Caleb, if it made her happy.

* * *

Seth was exhausted. They had been going since morning, out on the lake, then on the bikes, and they had gone for a quick swim before Kirsten suggested they take a little break, which she was surprised when Seth quickly agreed. They had eaten a snack and Seth had fallen asleep on the couch, his little arm hanging off into the bowl of popcorn.

God, Kirsten loved that little boy.

She gave him a kiss on the forehead, and grabbed a book and was grateful for the hour or two that she got to relax while Seth slept and before round two of the day.

And before Sandy got there.

Kirsten had called him before their swim, and wasn't surprised at how quickly Sandy agreed to come up there. She glanced at the clock. He should be there soon. She sighed and tried to concentrate on her book again.

When she heard the gravel on the driveway, she stood and walked to the window. She watched from the window as Sandy climbed out of the car and grabbed a bag from the trunk. He looked up at the cabin and spotted her in the window and lifted his hand in a half-hearted wave before making his way up the steps.

Kirsten moved to the door and pulled it open. Sandy slid his sunglasses to the top of his head. Kirsten was wearing just a t-shirt and jeans, and her hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail, and she had never looked more beautiful.

"Hey," she said softly. "Seth is sleeping." She gestured towards the living room and when Sandy peeked in, he saw Seth lying on the couch fast asleep.

"You wore him out huh?" Sandy asked.

"He wore me out too," Kirsten said.

"How long has he been sleeping?" Sandy asked quietly as he leaned down and pushed Seth's hair from off his face and kissed his cheek.

"An hour or so," Kirsten replied shrugging. Sandy nodded and followed Kirsten out of the room and into the massive kitchen.

"Would you like anything to drink?" She offered.

"A water would be nice," he requested and it was her turn to nod as she pulled open the fridge and pulled out a bottle for him.

"So…" She started sitting down on one of the stools. Sandy took her lead and sat down on the stool across from her. "I guess we should…"

"I'm sorry," Sandy broke in. "And on top of that, I'm sorry. And also, I'm sorry." She started to open her mouth, and he shook his head. "I was out of line and what I said was uncalled for, and not true at all. I don't regret, not ever, not for a single second, being married to you. I don't even know why I said it, except that I knew that it would hurt you and at the time that was what I wanted. I didn't mean it. I love you so much."

"Sandy…"

"Kirsten, please. I love you. Okay? I love you so much that sometimes it scares me. Please, I don't want this…I can't have this…" He shook his head, and it was Kirsten's turn to talk.

"What you said hurt me."

"I know, and I'm sorry."

"And sorry doesn't really make it better Sandy," she said. "But I love you too." She was silent for a minute before looking him in the eye. "I want to stay in Newport. I want to be close to my family. I want to keep my job. I'm sorry. I know that it's unfair to you, and maybe even a little unfair to Seth…" Kirsten couldn't help the tears that started to slide down her face. "God I'm really selfish, aren't I? You were right. I'm acting like a spoiled brat. Seth doesn't like it there, you don't like it there. I'm the only one who wants to stay there."

"You aren't a spoiled brat," Sandy said moving towards her. "Despite what I have said. What would I know? I'm a pompous ass sometimes. And Newport…it's not that bad."

"What a rousing approval," Kirsten remarked sarcastically.

"No, what I meant is, if it means that much to you, then we stay, and Seth will get used to it. It's not all bad you know. He loves the ocean, and the beach, and our house. And as much as it pains me to admit it, I love the house, and being able to surf every morning. I like my job in Chino. I feel like I'm really making a difference there. Sometimes I feel as if I'm meant to be there in some odd way." Sandy closed the small gap between him and Kirsten and took her hand cautiously, relieved when she let him. "We'll stay in Newport."

"Daddy!" Seth's voice interrupted them and he bounded into the kitchen and Sandy let go of Kirsten's hand so that he could scoop his son into his arms. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was lonely at the house, and Mommy and I thought it would be a better idea if I came up here to be with you guys," Sandy answered giving Seth a hug.

"You're just in time for hot dogs!" Seth told him. "Want me to show you the cupboard with the roasting stuff?" Sandy looked over at his wife, who wiped away the remaining tears and nodded her consent.

"Sure, kid, let's go. You lead the way," Sandy placed Seth on the ground and watched as the six-year-old scrambled towards the door. "We'll talk about this later?" Kirsten nodded.

"Let's go Dad," Seth said with a roll of his eyes, and Sandy was hit with the terrifying vision of what Seth would be like as a teenager.

* * *

Seth was tucked away in the bedroom that was his in the cabin, and Kirsten shut off the lights and met Sandy in the hallway.

"Tonight was fun," Sandy said. They had roasted hot dogs and then baked potatoes in foil, and then marshmallows. Kirsten, it turned out, was about as good at roasting things as she was at cooking. Her poor potato had dropped into the fire, as had both her hot dog before, and her marshmallow after.

"Mommy," Seth had said taking her stick from her. "I'll do it for you." And he had. Perfectly.

"Yes it was," Kirsten agreed. She started towards the bedroom that she and Sandy always stayed in. Sandy followed, unsure as to whether or not they were on good terms yet.

"We need to finish our discussion," he said gently as she closed the bedroom door behind them.

"I don't want us to stay in Newport, and you become bitter about it, and resent me for making us stay there. I don't want Seth to resent me…"

"He won't. He adores you."

"Yeah, well, maybe now, but what happens when he's a teenager."

"He'll still adore you. And he's going to be fine, in Newport or in Berkeley…and I'll be fine. Wherever you are is where I want to be, and I'll be fine as long as I'm with you."

"Are you sure?" Kirsten asked softly. "Are you sure that this is okay?"

"Kirsten, baby," Sandy said stepping close to her. All night she had been in arms' reach, but he hadn't had the courage to actually pull her into his arms like he had wanted. It made his arms ache to know that she was right there, and he couldn't hold her. He couldn't take it anymore, and reached out and took her arm and pulled her closer to him. "Listen to me. I just want you to be happy, and if that means Newport than that's where we will stay…"

"God, though, Sandy, do you understand how selfish that makes me? That you are willing to make this sacrifice for me? And I'm not willing to make it back?"

"Kirsten, both of us can't make a sacrifice, that's not how they work…so it's my turn this time, and one day it's going to be yours. Give and take, baby. And it's my turn to give, and your turn to take." Kirsten's last wall of defense broke down and she buried her face in Sandy's chest and cried as he held her.

"I still feel so selfish," Kirsten said weeping quietly.

"You want to stay there more than I want to leave," Sandy reminded her. "It would be selfish of me to make us leave."

"Seth will be okay?"

"Seth will be fine," Sandy promised. "Seth's a good kid, he'll be okay wherever we go." Even Sandy didn't know if Seth truly would ever fit in there, but he didn't want to make Kirsten more upset. He was tired of fighting her about it. They would move to Newport permanently. He was willing to do that for her.

They stood there for a few minutes, before Kirsten looked up at her husband.

"You know you aren't totally off the hook for the things you said yet, right?"

"I know," he said nodding. "I need to make it up to you."

"A necklace would really do the trick," she proposed grinning at him. "Or a new ring…"

"Really?"

"Yes, silver…with diamonds." Sandy leaned down and kissed her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For letting us live in Newport," she said softly. "It does mean a lot to me." Sandy didn't reply, just tightened his hold on her and leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"Does this mean I don't have to sleep on the couch tonight?"


End file.
